In January, 2015, I asked my Facebook family and friends what acts of kindness picked them up, warmed their hearts, or made them smile. Here are their replies. I think these will pick you up, warm your hearts, and make you smile.  Enjoy!

•  Kathy Ridd Wittke Some big acts of kindness that warmed my heart and brought me to tears was our home ward providing Christmas for several families in our mission ward this past December! 

  Some small acts of kindness are: a loving smile from my husband, big hugs of my grandchildren, giggles from grandchildren, people holding doors open for you, my husband always opening my car door for me, my husband taking my hand or my arm as I walk. I’m sure there are many more, but that is a start!
•  Jan Porter My husband’s mom died at the end of October. She was 92. Our family decided that we would do 92 acts of kindness in her honor during the month of December. We have a family “group” on Facebook so we could list the acts and number them and only our family could see the list. It was amazing to see the variety and number of ways we were able to pass it on. They ranged from a simply smile to hauling groceries to baking bread for neighbors to delivering Secret Santa baskets to letting someone in line ahead of us…… The list went on and on. I think I am going to start a little notebook where, each day, I list 3 things I’m grateful for and 1 act of kindness I have performed. I would be happy to share more from our list if you want me to.
• Pamela Spitzer  Friends bringing dinner during my recovery…..friends helping with my work load at school…..
•  Kathleen Ballamis Freeman A lady & her husband at Harmons grocery store on Bangerter in Draper letting me go ahead of them on Christmas Eve Day. I had only a big bouquet of Christmas flowers & they were loading the belt with groceries. When the cashier rang up my $16.00 bouquet, she told him to add it to their bill…she gave me a hug & said Merry Christmas! Thank you to a sweet couple I don’t even know!
•  Mike Wood A smile
• Jan Porter My daughter is a stay at home mom but she is working as a server a couple of nights a week just to help her little family. The week before Christmas someone left her a $150 tip! She was almost hysterical with joy – it made a huge difference in her life. So often people are stingy with tips – some people are ridiculous. She has had people leave without paying the bill. Or sometimes they leave without tipping, maybe not realizing that she still has to tip out on their check. So she has spent an hour waiting on a table and then it costs HER money to tip out their $70 bill. So, for her to receive a huge tip on a $30 check was amazing.
•  Dee Batson My visiting teachers bringing needed messages from Heavenly Father and that leaves me better than they found me! We have been blessed with home teachers that have become apart of our family and who are a support for our family for years. We have had so many acts of kindness from them! Gratitude in my heart for their kindness…
•  Linda Barrett Dirksen My hubby makes me coffee, lets me wake up, then reads scripture and inspirational writings to me. Big hugs and praise God every morning. He always picks up where I leave off. He even grocery shops! So considerate and kind. Takes us out to dinner whenever I work, or even if I don’t, just a wonderful Godly man. Love him dearly. He helps others too, paid our neighbor’s utility bill when her husband left her high and dry with 3 kids, “rents” our other house to missionaries so they can move to Costa Rica to continue their dream and on and on. He’s a keeper!
•  Christine Reeve Blake A lady in front of me at the gas station paid for my drink and I didn’t know until she left and the cashier told me. It totally changed my attitude for the day!
•  Tara Marie Flora I took my girls to the Museum of Natural Curiosity last week. I ended up getting lost in the giant jungle maze there. I asked two sweet little girls, around age 6 or 7 if they could point the way out for me. They began to describe to me, then the one little girl stopped and said, “Would you like me to lead you?” Such a polite and considerate thing for such a young person. I was really touched.
•  Lindsay Knight Getting a text from an old friend I rarely see with an inside joke that I haven’t thought about in ages. Customers who remain polite and calm when they have an issue at the store, or the ones who actually take the time to say “thank you for your help, we appreciate it”. And a good old fashioned compliment always makes my day.

   Sadi Lyn Anderson Johnson Terri Lynn Fausett brought our family dinner the other night. She noticed that I could maybe use a break. That was truly a blessing and a great act of service for her to give me that day
• Tiffany Mangum Cooke When my sister sees a cashier having a rough day, she asks them their favorite candy bar and adds it to her bill. They are always shocked someone would do that for them. When I was teaching, I liked to give the teachers on my team a break and take their class for them during my prep period. I try to do something for someone else every day. When we eat dinner together, I ask my kids what they did for someone else today. It helps them think of others more often.
• Debbie Snow A lady behind me at the target checkout s last fall paid for 30 boxes of crayons for my classroom. She said she really appreciates teachers. I still smile when I think of it!
•  Jan Porter Here are a few of our 90+: holding the door, gave a candy bar, made dinner for sick friend, stayed late at work to walk someone to her car so she didn’t have to walk alone, sent thank you emails to ward members expressing love and appreciation, held a little girl while she vomited at school, gave some free haicuts, left a great tip and wrote a thank you to a pregnant server, shared her lunch with acoworker, gave money to a homeless man, helped a man in a wheelchair, free haircuts for missionaries, fixed someone’s computer, delivered lots of hot bread, helped someone find a job, raked the neighbor’s yard, unloaded groceries from basket to car for a handicapped woman, provided a listening ear for someone going through a miscarriage, served hot chocolate to visitors seeing lights at St. G. temple, bought lunch for a stranger at Taco Bell, let someone in front of me in rush hour traffic, carried big bag of dog food to the car for a lady, 3 yr old helped push a wheelchair, babysitting/driving neighbor’s child to school, changed airplane seats so a mother could sit with her child, cleared off table and did dishes without being asked (age 8), sewed a Christmas gift for my sister’s grandkids (8 pillow cases), covered for a coworker so he could go see zoo lights with his family, shopped/wrapped/delivered gifts to a deserving family, jump started someone’s car, volunteered to be the bus monitor, gave away a Subway gift card, took out trash for sick sibling. It was a GREAT family experience.

   Tiffany Mangum Cooke An anonymous donor put an envelope in my box at school that had $50 and a note thanking me for all the things I do for others and telling me to do something nice for myself.
   
•  Kristine Stewart Lambert When my sweet mom passed away…. Three of my friends came to my house and cleaned and left dinner for us… After being gone all day planning for her service and writing talks… Going through her things I was exhausted emotionally and physically. My mom used to come over and clean my house and leave dinner for me. I will never forget how loved I felt that night.
•  Liz Schwartz My neighbors elfed me for 12 days one December. They left gifts and Bible verses on my doorstep everyday day.. Each day was very creative! They used the 12 Days of Christmas song for inspiration. There were fresh pears and partridge ornaments the first day, Dove chocolates the second day, French cookies and chicken ornaments the third day…..The best was bagels on the 5th day. My girls and I paid it forward and we did the same for one friend or neighbor every Christmas for about 10 years.
•  Julie Ann Howe A porch full of Christmas gifts and a tree left anonymously the December my husband left us. We just saw taillights driving away. I still get tears in my eyes whenever I think of this. It was 20+ years ago…

  A friend helping me pack my kitchen to move unit 1 am so I wouldn’t give up.
  A beautiful cousin providing her gorgeous yard for my daughter’s wedding reception. So many more…Angels are among us! ♡
•  Liz Schwartz My 12 days of Christmas gifts from my neighbors was right at the time my husband ran off and left us. We turned it into our new family tradition.
• Karen White As a mother with small children I was touched when my visiting teacher made me a birthday cake. That was a wonderful gift as I did not have to make my own birthday cake that year!

  When I had my stroke my visiting teacher wanted to bring in dinner. I told her no as my husband could take care of it( and I wanted to be independent. So she brought over a bear creek soup and a loaf of French bread so I could still be independent but I could choose to use it when I wanted. That touched my heart as she understood that need to test myself and grow stronger! That meant so much to me.
•  Connie Barrett Gehring One thought came to mind. Long ago when I was a cranky needy teenager our dear Mom sewing new clothes for me. She held down a full time job so the only time to sew was after work late into the night. I don’t still have many of those clothes but I do have the full length green satin coat I wore to my senior ball! It was so elegant and made me fill like a princess. What a beautiful job she did. I am sure I didn’t show her how much that meant to me but it did.
•  Pamela Spitzer I have another one……a dear friend steps up and takes you to the doctor’s appointment when your other ride had to back out. Beautiful act of kindness that was very much appreciated!
•  CariAnn Bracken Saurey Two stories to share. 

  1-a wonderful woman gave me a banana bread recipe at my wedding shower 18 years ago … along with some advice about marriage. I have shared both the recipe and advice on many occasions and it has blessed many lives!

  2-12 years ago I was picking up a prescription for my sick 2 year old and was hugely pregnant. I was holding my sick son and the only other think I had was my flex card to pay for the prescription. While waiting, an older gentleman was waiting for his prescription too and was eating an icecream cone. Of course my sick little boy starts crying about wanting icecream and it becomes a struggle to keep hold of him. When the man finally walked away I was relieved to not have to battle my toddler. Then the man returned with another cone for my son. I broke down in tears in the store and still to this day feel immense gratitude for that stranger and the act of kindness shown that day.

   Renae Barrett Salisbury This makes me smile – a daughter-in-law, Lisa Coleman Salisbury, who asks my input when preparing Church lessons. It’s always a great boost to feel needed!